Saputo second-quarter earnings dip on lower dairy prices

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Saputo Inc, one of Canada's
largest dairy producers, said on Thursday its second-quarter
earnings were down from the same period a year earlier on lower
prices for cheese and butter.

For its fiscal second quarter, net income fell to C$148.6
million, or 37 Canadian cents a share, from C$155.7 million, or
39 Canadian cents, a year earlier. Adjusted for one-time items,
earnings were 38 cents per share.

Analysts were expecting Saputo to earn 37 Canadian cents per
share on revenue of C$2.74 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.

Saputo's shares eased 0.2 percent to C$31.64 in Toronto.

The Montreal-based company, whose brands include Dairyland
milk and Armstrong cheese, is among the top three cheese
producers in the United States and also has significant
operations in Argentina and Australia.
(By Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Alan Crosby)